The present invention relates to a shoe having retractable spikes and more particularly pertains to utilizing spikes when needed and being able to retract them when not needed.
The use of shoe accessory devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, shoe accessory devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of customizing shoes are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,855 to Jordan discloses an athletic shoe with means to retract the spikes into the outsole housing using manually slidable spike plates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,951 Jordan discloses a shoe with retractable spikes using a liquid inflated bladder arrangement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,482 to Remington discloses a spring biased spike capable of manually extending and retracting.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a shoe having retractable spikes for utilizing spikes when needed and being able to retract them when not needed.
In this respect, the shoe having retractable spikes according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of utilizing spikes when needed and being able to retract them when not needed.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which can be used for utilizing spikes when needed and being able to retract them when not needed. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of shoe accessory devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved shoe having retractable spikes. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a shoe portion comprised of an open upper end for receiving a foot therein and a closed lower end. A sole portion is secured to the closer lower end of the shoe portion. The sole portion has a hollow interior. The sole portion if comprised of a heel portion and a toe portion. The heel portion and the toe portion each have a plurality of apertures therethrough in a spaced relationship. A pair of plates are disposed within the hollow interior of the sole portion. The pair of plates include a heel plate and a toe plate corresponding with the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a plurality of spikes extending downwardly therefrom in a spaced relationship. The plurality of spikes are aligned with the plurality of apertures of the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a pair of springs extending downwardly therefrom. The springs each have lower ends coupling with the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion, respectively. The springs bias the pair of places upwardly whereby the spikes are disposed within the hollow interior of the sole portion. A pair of deployment mechanisms are disposed within the sole portion. The deployment mechanisms each have a slot in the sole portion, and a sliding rod extending laterally across the plates and out of the sole portion through the slot.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which has all the advantages of the prior art shoe accessory devices and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which is of durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a shoe having retractable spikes economically available to the buying public.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes for utilizing spikes when needed and being able to retract them when not needed.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved shoe having retractable spikes including a shoe portion comprised of an open upper end for receiving a foot therein and a closed lower end. A sole portion is secured to the closed lower end of the shoe portion. The sole portion has a hollow interior. The sole portion is comprised of a heel portion and a toe portion. The heel portion and the toe portion each have a plurality of apertures therethrough in a spaced relationship. A pair of plates are disposed within the hollow interior of the sole portion. The pair of plates include a heel plate and a tope plate corresponding with the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a plurality of spikes extending downwardly therefrom in a spaced relationship. The plurality of spikes are aligned with the plurality of apertures of the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The pair of plates each have a pair of springs extending downwardly therefrom. The springs each have lower ends coupling with the heel portion and the toe portion of the sole portion. The springs bias the pair of plates upwardly whereby the spikes are disposed within the hollow interior of the sole portion. A pair of deployment mechanisms are disposed within the sole portion. The deployment mechanisms each have an extended orientation whereby the pair of plates extend downwardly against the biasing of the springs with the spikes extending through the apertures.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.